Bob Barnetson

Dr. Bob Barnetson is a professor of labour relations at Athabasca University. His research focuses on the political economy of workplace injury, farm workers, and child labour in Alberta. He’s the author of The Political Economy of Workplace Injury in Canada (Athabasca University Press, 2010), co-editor of Farm Workers in Western Canada: Injustices and Activism (University of Alberta Press, 2016) and co-author of Health and Safety in Canadian Workplaces (Athabasca University Press, 2016).

While the government's new Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) rules affecting paid, non-family farm workers in Alberta represent a significant win for farm worker safety, a number of troubling exceptions will continue to heighten the risk of farm worker injury and death.

Labour relations professor Bob Barnetson explains why new rules regulating youth employment introduced as part of the Alberta government's sweeping update to employment standards could make a bad situation even worse for young workers.

Based on a survey of 2,000 Alberta workers, this report looks at the failure of the occupational health and safety system to keep workers in the province safe, and makes recommendations to reduce the number of occupational fatalities, injuries, and illnesses.

The Alberta government is reviewing its Occupational Health and Safety Act for the first time since it was enacted in 1976. Based on the results of a recent worker survey, here are suggestions for changes that can be made to increase worker and workplace safety.

A 2015 report prepared for the former Progressive Conservative government and released after a freedom of information request reveals the extent of farm worker injuries and a lack of adequate insurance coverage for paid employees on farms.

Bill 6 (the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act) extends basic occupational health and safety rights to paid Alberta farm workers, but recommendations from a government-appointed working group on employment standards would weaken those basic protections.

Newspapers are one of the main public sources of information about workplace injuries and fatalities, but the analysis in this report suggests Alberta newspaper articles are creating an inaccurate picture of workplace incidents.

The provincial government has introduced Bill 4, which gives most public sector workers the right to strike for the first time in decades. Athabasca University labour relations professor Bob Barnetson looks at what impact the legislation could have on labour relations with the province's workers.

Parkland Institute is an Alberta-wide, non-partisan research centre situated within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta. Parkland Institute studies economic, social, cultural, and political issues facing Albertans and Canadians, using the perspective of political economy. more »